1 Samuel 30 Summary - 5 Minute Bible Study

1 Samuel 30 Summary - A Quick Overview

WHEN:

• Israel’s first king, Saul, was appointed in approximately 1050 B.C.

• The events documented in 1 Samuel 30 took place between approximately 1015-1010 B.C.

• David lived in the land of the Philistines for 1 year and 4 months (27:7).

CHARACTERS:

• David – Samuel anointed him to be the second king of Israel. During these days, David lived amongst the Philistines because Saul, the first king of Israel, was trying to kill him.  

• Amalekite Raiders – They attacked David’s hometown while he and his men were in Aphek.

WHERE:

• The chapter opens with David and his 600 men travelling from Aphek to Ziklag.

• They later pursued the Amalekites to the south, across the Besor brook.

OUTLINE:

• ZIKLAG IS BURNED BY THE AMALEKITES (30:1-6):

  • After being sent home from the Philistine army at Aphek, David and his men returned to Ziklag.

  • When they arrived, they found their city burned and pillaged by the Amalekites.

  • All the women and children, including David’s 2 wives, had been taken captive.

  • The men of Ziklag “wept until they had no more strength.”

  • Their sadness turned to anger towards David, and they debated stoning him.

• DAVID’S MEN CHASE DOWN THE AMALEKITES (30:7-15):

  • David asked the Lord if he should pursue the Amalekites and if there was any chance of catching up to them.

  • God assured David that, if he pursued them, he would overtake them.

  • David and his 600 men set out, but 200 withdrew from the chase at the Besor brook, because they were too exhausted to continue.

  • David and his 400 men encountered an Egyptian in the open country.

  • The man had been abandoned by his Amalekite companions and hadn’t eaten or drank for 3 days.

  • David’s men gave him food and water. After he had eaten, they discovered he was from the same Amalekite group that had burned Ziklag.

  • In exchanged for his life, the Egyptian agreed to lead David’s men to the Amalekites.

• DAVID’S MEN SAVE THEIR FAMILIES FROM THE AMALEKITES (30:16-31):

  • When they caught up to the Amalekites, they found them drinking, dancing, and enjoying the spoils of their victories.

  • David’s men attacked them and killed all but a small number who escaped on camels.

  • Everything that had been stolen from Ziklag was recovered, the goods, the women, and the children.

  • When David’s 400 men returned to the 200 who stayed behind at the Besor brook, they didn’t want to share the spoils of the victory with them. But David rejected their selfishness and instructed the spoil to be shared equally among all.

  • David also sent part of the spoils to his friends, the elders of Judah.

APPLICATION:

• Don’t allow your personal disappointments to make you self-center to the point that you forget about the challenges of others. 

• In the last chapter we discussed the Philistine lords rejecting David as part of their army.

• While David was being rejected, the women and children of his town were being terrorized and running from their burning houses.

• David’s men may have thought they were having a bad day, but their families were having a much worse day.

• When things don’t go smoothly in our lives, we may tend to mope about with a woe-is-me attitude. That kind of an attitude can limit our perspective.

• We can forget that there are many people experiencing days much worse than ours.

• One of the best ways to get over our disappointments is to keep a proper perspective and perhaps to reach out to those others who are also having a tough day.